"Speak. What is it that you desire? If it is within my power, I will do my best to grant your wish..."
Grey was genuinely surprised. He hadn't expected her to promise something like that.
'What if I asked you to be mine forever? Would you agree? You can't exactly say that's beyond your abilities, can you? Alright, alright... Grey, stop daydreaming. Get back to reality. You have far more urgent problems than flirting with a beauty.'
'But those enchanting eyes... That seductive body practically made for temptation... How is anyone supposed to resist? Maybe I should give it a try? She wouldn't kill me, right?'
'STOP! Pull yourself together, you spineless fool! You're not some horny virgin. Business comes first. We can think later about how to make this woman submit. It's not like she can run away, right?'
'Oh, she absolutely can! I'm certain her speed is nothing our pathetic body can compete with. Wanting to sleep with her is practically the same as having a death wish. And that's not even mentioning her countless admirers and all those mysterious sugar daddies backing her. If she agrees, we're headed straight for death by snu-snu.'
'Possibly.'
'Possibly.'
'Death by snu-snu must be wonderful. What kind of idiot dies from getting shot? Ah, right. Me.'
'Terrible experience. One star. Death by snu-snu sounds like the superior option.'
'Quit screwing around! Focus. In case you've forgotten, we're still in mortal danger. Who knows what secrets she managed to pry out of us... Maybe she's stalling for time right now while figuring out how to dispose of the evidence.'
'You're right. Safety comes first. We'll secure our survival before anything else. Then we can start thinking about how to make this woman ours. She will belong to us! That's already a settled fact. I absolutely have to make her submit. How dare she be this insolent.'
'Exactly. Exactly. Her punishment will be an eternal life as our wife. We should secure the finest possible death for our future selves. Death by snu-snu!'
'Death by snu-snu!'
'Amen.'
Grey became lost in his own thoughts. It seemed that even without Junior around, he simply couldn't break the habit of talking to himself.
His flexible mind obligingly created several more personalities that argued animatedly with one another while Veronika patiently waited for his answer.
"Snu-snu," Grey blurted out, nearly drooling as the words left his mouth.
"What?" she asked, genuinely confused.
'What is snu-snu?'
Grey shook his head. "It's nothing. Sorry, I got distracted. What were you asking me about again?"
She was left speechless.
The more she interacted with this brat, the less she understood him.
Just when she thought she had finally figured out what kind of person he was, he would overturn that conclusion completely in the very next moment.
What kind of normal person would forget about a favor from an expert like her? He might not know exactly how powerful she was, but he should at least understand the difference between them. So why did he treat her as though she were nothing more than air?
It didn't matter...
"I asked what it is that you want from me."
"Umm... right," Grey said, looking slightly embarrassed. "Could... Could I ask what exactly you learned when you enchanted me?" he asked uncertainly.
The moment he brought up the subject, he felt his heart crawl back into his throat. He couldn't help crossing his fingers behind his back and praying to every god he knew.
'Holy Virgin Mary, Jesus, Buddha, Zeus, Aphrodite. I beg you, hear my plea. Please don't let this woman uncover my deepest secrets. Please grant this tiny wish of mine. I swear I'll behave myself. I can even offer you a sacrifice. Do you prefer lambs, poultry, or perhaps large livestock? That might be difficult to arrange, but if you help me, I'll do everything I can.'
Seeing the pitiful expression on that incomparably beautiful face, Veronika could easily guess what he was thinking.
It almost felt as if she could hear that irritating voice inside her head, desperately praying for his pathetic secrets to remain hidden.
She couldn't hold back her laughter.
He truly was an adorable boy. Her sides hurt so much from suppressing her laughter that it became difficult to breathe. The muscles in her face nearly cramped from smiling. If not for the previous incident, she would have laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks. But now, she wanted to preserve at least a shred of dignity, so she forced herself to maintain an elegant posture.
"Hehe, hehe, I can see you're still very worried," she said with a sly smile. "Believe me, it's nothing too serious. Only the reason behind my invitation..."
Grey relaxed involuntarily.
As unpleasant as it was, he could accept that much and had already prepared himself for such an outcome. However, her next words made the smile vanish from his face.
"As well as your ambitions, your bottomless pocket, your endless plans and... Junior's personality. How long were you planning to hide him from me? Perhaps it's time for us to get acquainted?"
His body froze. He looked like a wooden puppet with its strings cut.
'And you call that "nothing too serious"? Those secrets are enough to get me killed a hundred times over. Mother of God. I'm dead. Definitely dead...'
'I, being of sound mind and clear memory, hereby declare my final will and testament. All my possessions shall be bequeathed to...'
'Stop. Stop. Stop.'
'She's asking about Junior? She wants to meet him? Haven't they already spoken before? Exactly what does she know?'
'Come to think of it... probably nothing. She's trying to lure me into a trap with that question. Acting as if she already knows the answer when she actually doesn't. A standard interrogation tactic. What a cunning fox...'
'Which means she doesn't know who Junior really is. Most likely, I only mentioned him in passing. That means she still doesn't know my greatest secret about reincarnation. She didn't say anything about the Child of Prophecy either.'
'Good. Very good. The three biggest secrets are still safe.'
'Ambitions? Who doesn't have those? That's perfectly normal. Plans? I would have had to tell her about them sooner or later anyway. Otherwise, none of this would work. Safe.'
'It's a little alarming that she found out about the bottomless pocket. But losing wealth is better than losing my life. I'll just have to part with my belongings. A small sacrifice... Hey, why are there tears running down my face?'
Meanwhile, Veronika's thoughts were entirely different.
'Tsk, my little trick missed the mark. I can tell he relaxed, which means I failed to choose the right bait. This is becoming more and more interesting. Just how much are you hiding from me? Well, have it your way. I'll play with you slowly...'
With her level of cultivation, reading body language was effortless. To her, he was an open book.
Although Grey tried to keep himself under control and even had some experience dealing with people from high society, he simply couldn't rid himself of instinctive reactions. Not at his pitiful level.
Dilated pupils, the brief twitch of an eyebrow, the involuntary tightening of muscles. All of it pointed to the fear he had felt when she told him what she had learned.
Yet a minute later, his ears twitched slightly, his body loosened, and his heartbeat settled down. To Veronika, it was painfully obvious that he had breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't help feeling disappointed.
"To tell you the truth," Grey said hesitantly, "Junior won't be able to meet you. He's just an imaginary friend I made up to help me deal with stress. It's been that way since I used to sleep with a stuffed toy. It's something that goes all the way back to my childhood. I hope you won't judge me and that you'll keep this secret to yourself."
"Tsk, stop fooling around... You can keep your secrets to yourself. Get to the point."
At that moment, Veronika resembled a sulking schoolgirl puffing out her cheeks because she hadn't been allowed to taste her favorite treat.
Grey didn't press the issue. He knew she understood he was spouting complete nonsense. As long as he remained conscious, he didn't really care.
"Then... what about the bottomless pocket?" he began uncertainly. "If you..."
Before he could finish, Veronika cut him off.
"Keep your little trinkets to yourself. I have no need for them. Get straight to your wish."
She was starting to lose patience.
Grey straightened his back. Since the opportunity had presented itself, it would be a sin to waste it on politeness.
"Can you heal me?" he asked the question that mattered most.
"No."
The answer came instantly, as Veronika had been certain that would be the very first thing he requested.
Such a wish would have been the most natural and logical choice, but unfortunately, she wasn't all-powerful. Healing him was far from a simple matter, and Grey already knew that from Junior's stories, so he wasn't overly surprised.
"Then... can I make my request later?" he asked hesitantly.
Veronika raised an eyebrow. "There's nothing you want?"
Grey simply spread his hands.
"What is there for me to wish for? At the moment, I already have everything I need. A roof over my head, food, and a salary. I know my limits, so I'd rather postpone my request than waste it."
He wasn't lying.
He could have asked her to find Junior Grey's mother and sister, but that would have been far too dangerous. An expert like her had undoubtedly heard of the Child of Prophecy and knew the identifying traits of that family. Who knew whether she would turn hostile the very moment she realized who he truly was?
After all, he was supposedly destined to destroy all of humanity. Personally, he considered such prophecies complete nonsense, but he was utterly powerless when it came to convincing others of that. The people of this world could only be described as absurdly superstitious.
Weren't they all idiots? If humanity were really so easy to wipe out, it would have vanished long ago. If there was one thing humans excelled at, it was surviving and adapting.
In any case, there was nothing he truly wished for.
"Alright."
Veronika didn't argue with him.
She looked out the window, where dawn was already beginning to break, and sighed. She hadn't even noticed how she had spent the entire night with him.
Was this boy truly that interesting to her? Or was it his handsome face? His pitiful fate? A different perspective on things?
She couldn't answer those questions. Perhaps it was all of it together.
It had been an exciting night, full of emotional swings and interesting revelations. But all good things eventually came to an end. It was time for him to leave, and for her to return to her dull, routine life.
Such was the law of the world.
"Go. You're free now." Veronika waved him off in farewell.
"Don't forget to apologize to Monica. And... don't judge her too harshly... She's suffered far too much and doesn't deserve the things you said to her..." She fell silent, as if unable to fully express what she felt.
Grey might have seemed simple, but he had his own stubbornness. A peculiar, strange kind of stubbornness.
Demanding sincerity from him was a rather pointless endeavor.
Grey hesitated for a moment, but still asked.
"Can I know what exactly happened to her?"
"I don't tell other people's secrets," Veronika refused firmly. "Especially the secrets of my own people. That includes you as well. If you're curious, you can ask her yourself."
Grey nodded.
He hated the fact that he couldn't help but respect this woman. She could be playful and unscrupulous, yet at the same time she was surprisingly straightforward to deal with.
"So what's the best way for me to apologize?" he asked thoughtfully.
Veronika smiled slightly. It pleased her that he took her request seriously.
"She likes sweets..."
He smiled. "Then I'll make a cake."
Already near the door, he turned around and asked one more foolish question.
"And you? Would you like to try a cake made by me?"
He received no answer.
Only when Grey's back was almost hidden behind the door did he hear a calm, quiet "Yes."
Veronika's full lips curved slightly.
'He can be cute when he wants to...'
She turned back toward the window and sighed.
'And you? You must surely hate me... Do you know how painful it was to see your hateful gaze...?'
'It still hurts... Even after hundreds of years...'